The Early Mitigation Planning (“EMP”) project is an effort to bring transportation planners together with resource agencies to select, plan, and construct mitigation projects for transportation improvements in an earlier, more streamlined, and more cost effective manner.

Protecting natural areas has a very real, tangible effect on our local and regional economies and the health of our communities. Open space and working landscapes provide a variety of services and benefits to our communities, including:

The Community Water Dialogues are an example of a proactive community solution to an archetypal California water dilemma. The Pajaro Valley basin aquifer is widely understood to be in overdraft, resulting in saltwater intrusion into the groundwater resources. For years, the discussion around water in the Pajaro Valley has been contentious, controversial, and unproductive.

Beginning in the late 1990s, eight watershed restoration plans and a number of other related assessments were undertaken for seven watersheds in Santa Cruz County. Over the next few years, the focus shifted to ways to effectively implement these plan recommendations. Numerous stumbling blocks were identified, including: